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Wednesday, 21 November 2012

Thanksgiving is best time, we think to thank our visitors and readers. We love the visitors who made time to drop by our page and have a glance at our posts. We wish to offer more and get some followers by next Thanksgiving with all your support.

Also to our friends out there in USA, we wish you all a very happy and fun-filled Thanksgiving.

Are you looking for some beautiful Thanksgiving decor for your home, we are posting some inspiring tips and decorations for your fall/thanksgiving party. Have a look and DIY!

> Use bright red/orange/yellow colours for your throw/table cloth/dinnerware on your dinner tables or white with a contrast bright colour combination. Keep in mind that fall is all about Colour, do not experiment too much which might get the whole concept wrong.

> Bring loads of cinnamon sticks to create a fall fragrance filled space with candles. And corn to fill in your candle jars.

> Keep some dry twigs, some hay and fall leaves in stock for a quick decor on your tables and shelves.

>Print the thanksgiving posters and hang them up in your living room to create the mood.

Monday, 19 November 2012

Barns & Fall season are so inseparable. Barns are generally used for storage of the farm produce or cattle and farming equipment.
The interesting fact about barns is that, amongst the famous barn types, English and dutch barns are prominent. The English barns are more popular in the USA and the dutch barns in USA, UK and Canada. Isn't that strange?
However nowadays barns are re-purposed to create an ambient living atmosphere. Some of them very well designed with contemporary elements and some of them in a vintage. As as Thanksgiving special, we are here presenting some beautifully designed barns. Have a look.

The lovely fall colours and bright red barn make a picturesque location.

The barn with the natural elements and the whites have added softness to the ambiance

This barn has kind of accommodated so many things in a restricted space. We love the white cabinets for the kitchen, but think the dining cabinet could have been matched.

The bedroom inside the barn with a great view

This barn has been rightly designed, with natural stone clad walls and wooden flooring with rustic elements restoring the feel of the barn. The orange seating have really brought in the fall season inside.

Another barn which has restored the ambiance using right mix of elements.

This barn is totally a contemporary design with modern elements and accessories...and the white surfaces adds up some extra light and space.

The above barn is very modern, spacious and luxurious as you see. All the interior elements are unique and add luxury to the space. The pendant lights add a statement to the kitchen.And the difference is the open courtyard style on one end, which is generally not common in barns.

The favourite space of ours amongst all the barns. Wish we could make an office like that. And love the bird poster on the wall.

If you assume barns can only be used for living and working, the above proves you wrong.Its a trend to celebrate weddings and parties at barn. The decor is generally rustic and vintage and gives an entirely different feel to a part. The above decor is an example. We love the naturality of the space.

And finally a beautiful wedding dinner party with lovely candles and great lighting in an old barn.

While barns exist worldwide, we personally loved the barns in England. The farms, hay-bales and barns were amazingly beautiful in England. If you have plans to re-purpose your own barn, we would love to help. Think of re-purpose, lets go green!!!

Saturday, 10 November 2012

We thought it would be nice to introduce this feature as part of our posts. After all, who wouldn't love to enjoy a luxurious living. Apart from showcasing some beautifully designed homes, our intention is to present our analysis of design used in such spaces.

This feature is the design from Guz Architects, Singapore. They hold a very good profile in creating luxurious spaces. Fish house is one of their best works. We think that this house is surely one of its kind when it comes to an eco-friendly design that embraces the climate of the region yet aesthetically appeals.

The water body which runs inside and outside of the house gives a very natural feel to the space. The coconut trees in the island in midst add a tropical feel. While we wonder the functionality of the space especially with coconut trees on the island might pose a root problem in future. We wish the architects have done something for this.

One of the best parts of the design is this mulch on the roof. Going green with design innovation is definitely a task to achieve. Guz Architects were successful in achieving this. The mix of wood, metal, glass along with mulch with the beach view is very interesting. The photo voltaic panels, around are energy suppliers.

The entire roof seems like waves to give a sea wave format.

The outside courtyards are spacious and the greenery is also kept to minimal giving a modern look.

The use of wood for the interior roof is one that is unique. It adds extravagance to the space. If you can observe the reverse strategy used here is white floor and wood clad roof, is what we appreciate.

The central courtyard seems to be inspired by an ancient architectural feature which has been enhanced and given a modern classic touch with spot lighting and green island in between.

The area in the ground floor is almost surrounded by the pool uniting the space with the sea in front.

The curved roofs are almost totally covered with thin bendable photovoltaic panels supplying enough energy to the house, while the remaining area is used as a green roof giving residents some outdoor leisure spaces.

The entire house is very uniquely designed with modern architecture using some ancient design elements with innovative green concepts not compromising in any element of luxury.
[Photo courtesy: Guz Architects & Freshome]

Saturday, 3 November 2012

How many of us love the flavour and fragrance while the Coffee brews. Isn't it irresistible?

The Coffee Lover's Paradise, Starbucks has launched its flagship store in India. For the world outside, Starbucks is almost a staple.,but for India I think it falls in the luxury brand category. The location and style of the store has sent the image out as luxury coffee shop. While we do not have any complaints against the image, we just wanted to enjoy the Starbucks coffee just as we did abroad. Perhaps we need to wait a little longer to reach that phase.

Anyways, what fascinated us was the store interiors. Although we have seen many coffee shops and love to spend our spare time at a coffee shop, we hardly come across very exclusively design stores. As most of these stores were franchises and they have a conventional design style to be followed including the accessories.

We are posting some pictures of the exclusive flagship Starbucks store launched in Mumbai in association with the TATA.

The store interiors with the chalk boards and brown hues is very much the newer style coffee shop. And for a location like the Hermes circle, this style is definitely a value addition.

The vintage look and very much Indian ethnic accessories are very eye candy for sure. The floor print with Indian authentic peacock design can also be noticed. The big vessels, which were typical water containers at the country homes have been used to hold the packs.

The cups have been customized to carry the India gate, Mumbai print. We haven't really come across such customized cups. This is definitely one of its kind.

The crowded store soon after the launch.

And the men behind the launch and making pose for the shutterbags.

Can't wait for the country wide stores. We wish to see similar styled stores or probably a customized style for every city may be.

Wednesday, 31 October 2012

We have been away for a while, but we are back with an interesting post. Staircase is the integral part for any duplex home. It not only enhances your interiors but also can turn out as a storage too. The contemporary staircases can be built with spaces underneath the staircase or sometimes underneath each step.

We have collected some great styles which suit your homes and add wonderful aesthetic value to your spaces.

The glass staircase is newest on the block. If you think that longevity will be a challenge, you are mistaken. These glass types are generally double toughened and quite strong. The edges are covered by steel or aluminium to avoid chipping.

These wood stairs are certainly modern styled and are cantilever supported beams. While they are one side supported, they are still quite strong to last for long duration.

The wooden staircase above has a storage are beneath. This looks good and also functions for two purposes. The homes which generally have space constraints can opt for this style.

The similar style yet very fresh concept. Cantilever steps are entangled to each other sharing loads and giving more support. We definitely love this style. But, if you toddlers around, its better to avoid this style or erect a temporary support railing on the off side.

While the above are all supportless on the off side of the stair, this staircase style has the contemporary styled railing support which extends up to the next floor level. Usually, very apt for restaurants and homes with space constraints. As this type of stair will give a spacious look to the home.

The above stair style is not support on the two ends. The supports are based, in other words distributed over to the next floor level and the ground level., along the baseline frame running on either sides of the stairs.

The above stair style is the good old vintage style. We get to see these museums and luxury hotels as you can see this style occupies huge space and need so much details to be done which is quite an expensive feat. The carvings and support railing all carry many details.

The above again is very contemporary American style stairs. If you observe, the railing are something which can be customized in infinite styles depending upon your taste and budget. However, the stairs need to be designed with basic design concepts, and additions of other material elements can be part of the design too.

The stairs though constructed in very restricted spaces, can sever dual purposes. The space underneath each step can be a storage box, as you see for your footwear or any DIY supplies or tools etc.,

The spiral staircase style, which is very much useful especially when you have very small space. The disadvantage would be moving stuff between the two levels. The above style has additional feature for the kids. The slide attached to the stairs will be very much fun.

The above picture will introduce you to the technical terminology of the staircase detail. The dimensions of the terms described, can vary with space. However, it is advisable to keep the basic standards for rise & tread at least.

We hope, the above pictures and details have given some handful information about staircase styles. Do write to us if you trying to get your existing stairs a new look, a makeover or renovation.